We Need a Product First!

I really feel the need to have a product before we go off into aspects of business development. And we need to be in agreement as to what the product is.

So far I believe we have agreed to:

1. Our audience are students in CDL school
2. The presentation is to be about one hour long
3. We talked about four parts or sections, however, I think maybe two would be better.

The section, "Who's the Boss?!," could almost take up the entire hour. I have strong feelings on this topic and is something I wish was stressed to me while in CDL school and training. 

As far as a possible second section, I think something on Self-Care. I think Self-Care is better then the term wellness because it is too tied up with company safety programs and brings up thoughts about diet and exercise and something "They" are trying to put on us Drivers. My bigger concern is about stress reduction! And "Who's The Boss?!, ties into this idea of stress reduction. After all, if a driver understands that he can shut down the truck due to weather, illness or whatever and the company cannot legally do anything about it could reduce stress.

Once we have fully agreed on this we can get it wrote up and put into a format that we can use to do the presentation and even put it on video.

Furthermore, I think to have this is a product form with lend itself to seeking support and feedback and help show us what next steps to take.

Let me know if what you are in agreement with me on and we will continue this journey, day by day.

Whoa Dude! Fuck 'n Creative Explosion!!

My mind is really racing as I drive. Of course I am not driving now:)

One thing we have not talked about is our business model, so to speak. Personally I would prefer to live in a Not-For-Profit world!!! Profit drives the military industrial complex, destruction of the earth, denying health care, and so on.

So, my preference for our business would be a non-profit. I am not interested in getting rich. I just want a livelihood which will enable me to live a decent life. So, a non-profit does not mean no income. I would like to have an income of forty five grand a year. And to be able to earn this as a driver advocate would be wonderful!! And driver advocacy seems to be what we are both most passionate about.

We need to continue with our project for an one hour CDL school presentation. This ties into and will support a hot line / website for drivers to contact when in stressful situations or just need a friendly & understanding ear.

One way to monetize this would be to seek a grant from the USDOT or some other agency to set this whole thing up. Since what we are working toward is supports and encourages safety it makes sense to get support for this.

Also as a non-profit we can seek support from trucking companies and CDL schools. It would be a tax write off for them and make them look good. They would be able to list the rescue number and website in their business dealings showing how they support driver safety. We would in turn list them as supporters.

If I remember correctly, you have non-profit experience. So your feedback on this will be great.

The 800 line could be developed to offer multiply languages. The hot line could be hire full time retired drivers as well as setting up some volunteer drivers.

Ah, I have a lot of ideas stirring about my brain, but I will stop for now. Gonna get breakfast at Rolling Hills Casino. Today is senior day and will get the buffet for 1/2 price.

~ ~ ~ ~

OK, had a nice breakfast. One thing with a buffet, including all drinks, and less than five bucks, is that I don't "feel" like I need to eat a lot to get my money's worth. 

My energy around this current idea is really racing! What came to mind while eating breakfast is that the hot line can also be expanded for spouses at home, and children as well. Can ya get your mind around this?! To my knowledge there is no kind of support even close to this for drivers and their families. The driver support is important but, the family support is just as important. Wouldn't it be great if a spouse who is having a tough time with his/her partner being gone so much be able to talk with someone else in the same place.

A spouse can talk with family and friends about frustrations about the situation, but they just cannot relate to it. Just as with children, it would be wonderful for them to being able to talk with other kids who are dealing with the same thing. This is the basic idea of twelve step groups--and having work them I know how important to talk with someone that understands your unique predicament! 

Once again, I come back to the idea of co-creating a non-profit business because of the extended support that we could get for government, trucking companies, CDL schools, and other social and family organizations.

So we need to continue to develop the CDL school presentation and to develop a proposal for a Drivers' Emotional Rescue hot line/website. This may seem like a lot, however, I tend to be non-linear so jumping between the projects will work for me.

I am thinking that maybe a phone hot line by this name, as well as this blog, would be of great service to the industry AND a way to monetize our work.

We may be able to get trucking companies and CDL schools to donate to this project.

This would be set up as a non profit and you and I could be the executive board with a salary. 

The phone hot line would need to be a 24/7 deal, so we could get other truckers, and even retired ones to be the operators, and they could get paid for this.

Our other project could be tied in with this, however, I am thinking this may be the quickest way to monetize. To develop such a service as a hot line drivers could call anytime to get some basic stress relief would be something trucking companies would easily get on board with.

Just waking up, but wanted to get some notes down.